UNDATED – Plasma treatments for COVID-19 could come from some work underway at Geisinger. President and CEO Dr. Jaewon Ryu discussed a clinical plasma trial they are taking part in, which was highlighted this week in the Washington Post.
Dr. Ryu explained what the clinical trial entails, “This is what’s called Convalescent Plasma Transfusions. This is taking the plasma from folks who have recovered from coronavirus and transfusing them into folks who currently have the virus on the belief that the antibodies contained in that plasma would infer some sort of immune response or strength.”
Dr. Ryu says the trial is in the early stages, “It’s an area that is still being studied. That’s why it is undergoing a clinical trial, which we are participating in. That’s why we have cases of convalescent plasma or serum use. At this point we have transfused over 110 patients, so a decent number at this point that we have done.”
He said the effectiveness of this treatment will only be known when all of the data from the trial is compiled, “Clinical trials have a very strict methodology. They make sure to enroll at least a certain number of patients, because you want to improve whether a treatment, in this case convalescent serum, or in other cases medications or otherwise, you need to know whether the treatment is lucky or good.”
Dr. Ryu explained you hate to use a treatment that was simply lucky, because lucky things have a way of going through an unlucky phase and also carry risk with them. You can hear Dr. Ryu’s entire Coronavirus update from Friday online at WKOK.com.
